Weiner now officially an ex-member of Congress

Representative Anthony Weiner (D-NY) announces that he will resign from the U.S. House of Representatives during a news conference in Brooklyn, New York, June 16, 2011. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

Democrat Anthony Weiner, caught sending lewd photos of himself to women over the Internet, on Monday submitted his letter of resignation from the House of Representatives, effective midnight on Tuesday.

Under pressure from President Barack Obama and other fellow Democrats, Weiner announced his resignation last week after being ensnared in an Internet sex scandal, but waited until Monday before declaring when he would leave.

Democrats feared that Weiner had become a political liability to their efforts to win back the House from Republicans in next year’s elections.

Once seen as a rising liberal star and likely future candidate for mayor of New York City, Weiner, 46, stood alone last Thursday when he announced he would leave Congress. His wife is a longtime aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Weiner’s two-sentence letter of resignation was addressed to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who will call a special election to replace the seven-term congressman.

Copies of his letter were sent to House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.

In his letter, Weiner made no mention of the scandal. He wrote, “I hereby resign as a member of the House of Representatives for New York’s Ninth Congressional District, effective at midnight, Tuesday, June 21, 2011. It’s been an honor to serve the people of Queens and Brooklyn.”

Weiner, 46, represented parts of New York City in the House since being first elected in 1998. His seat is expected to remain in Democratic hands.

He is the third member of Congress to step down this year in sex scandals.

During his time in office, Weiner successfully used social media such as Twitter and Facebook to boost his political standing. But his downfall was prompted when he accidentally posted publicly via Twitter a close-up of himself in underpants.

Weiner denied for more than a week that he sent the photo, claiming his account had been hacked. But on June 6, he admitted he had lied and had inappropriate exchanges with at least six women over three years.

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